Your relationship with your child’s music instruction studio is an important one.
Music lessons have been long proven to bring a great deal of benefits, including academic and social, but this can be undermined by not having the right studio.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing music lessons.
Employees VS Contractors
A number of studios simply rent out rooms to independent teachers, so there is little or no unified vision for education and student motivation.
Look for a facility that has teachers as employees rather than independent contractors. This insures the studio has a greater degree of control over what is taught, and who is teaching it.
Communication
You shouldn’t have to ask your child what they are learning, rather the teacher should walk out and speak with you briefly so you are in the loop as to what is occurring during the lessons.
It amazes me how some studios allow their teachers to just sit in their teaching rooms while the students file in and out.
The more you know what is going on, the more you can help monitor your child’s practice and progress.
Studio Policies
Every studio will have policies and you should know what they are before you sign up for lessons.
Do you have to sign up for a semester of lessons, or is it month to month?
If you have an erratic schedule, see if the studio offers the option to pay by the lesson. Though it is usually a bit more expensive, this can be the right choice for some and eliminates costly missed lessons.
What are the cancellation policies? Some require 24 hours notice, some 48. Some studios have a zero cancellation policy and do not provide makeups.
How are makeup lessons handled? Are they rescheduled as one-on-one or are they done as a group class?
How do you cancel lessons altogether? Some studios allow you to freeze lessons, so you don’t have to pay registration fees again, and to protect you from rate increases.
Some studios have very tricky cancellation polices, where you must come in and sign a form by a certain date of the month or you are charged again. Failure to understand this policy can mount up fees very quickly
I recommend you be very aware of your studio’s policies so there are no surprises down the road.